Quiet Times in Stable Times: Cozy Horse Arrangements
Arrange horses in the aisles of a cozy barn and discover many different ways to score well at the end of the day in Stable Times.
Let’s go! As someone who’s always enjoyed horses, along with an array of video games, I was excited to saddle up and check out Stable Times. Yeehaw! Well, this one isn’t exactly about riding, yet it features all sorts of horse artwork and a simple set of mechanics. I had a whole set of puns lined up as I set up the components and prepared to gallop to my table!
Game Overview
Game Name: Stable Times
Publication Year: 2025
Designer: Kristen Mott
Artist: Megan Galura
Publisher: Lovemore Games
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
The goal is to fill up 3 or 4 aisles in the barn with various horses. Different scoring conditions and suits create opportunities and challenges. Choosing which horses to gain also takes on a little spin with those in the fields. It’s a very quick and thoughtful experience. So many horses!
First Play
February 25, 2026
Complexity
2
Latest Play
February 28, 2026
Expansions
0
Setup Time
Almost None
Lifetime Plays
10
Play Time
10 Minutes
High Score
62
Game Area
16" x 20"
Low Score
43
Aligned Aisles
During my first play, I was mostly focused on figuring out the rules, but I managed to accidentally do quite well with my final score! Quite a nice way to start playing.
Turns involve placing up to 2 horses in the aisles, which get locked in by suits. Different scoring conditions create options, and upgrading the barn was a fun moment!
Small text in the rulebook was a little frustrating, and it took some effort to read about the horses on the cards.
These are all based on real horses, and I wanted to know all of the details! A tiny font size was less than ideal, but OK.
Hey, Hey, Hay There!
Hey, a Calico Critters horse! Or… Hay? Ha ha! In any event, for some reason, there isn’t an actual horse family, but horses exist for riding purposes in some older sets.
This one stopped by to perfectly pose amidst the components! The field area is actually a cloth board, which I wasn’t expecting. Rather a nice and thematic touch!
Another minor note was how dark a lot of the artwork appeared. Some of the horses felt less detailed on the cards.
But that’s minor, and I had a bright palomino to trot around in a rather proud manner, taking credit for my scores. Ha!
Upgraded Components
Not only is the field area a nice cloth board, but the barns themselves are upgradeable! These flip over under the right conditions to offer better final scoring opportunities.
It might not be obvious at a glance, but the artwork also indicates a much larger structure. I enjoyed flipping over the boards to see my little area turn into something grand.
Gameplay was pretty clear, although figuring out which horses to choose and place offered some nice choices.
Timing mattered a fair amount, as some horses scored for being first or last in an aisle. Lots of strategies to consider!
Neatly Arranged
Solo plays very similar to the multiplayer experience, and ends when either 3 or 4 aisles are completed filled up. With the right planning, it’s possible to fill the barn completely!
Overlapping the card art was a little disheartening, as I found myself almost entirely focused on the scoring conditions and icons over the wonderful illustrations.
The limitation of locking in a suit per aisle was also neat, as it constrained the choices just enough to be a challenge.
Everything was still quite light and quick, though, which was exactly what I hoped to get out of this little solo game.
A Brief Lament and Ode to the Horse Game Genre
My main reason for picking up this board game was to fill the void left by a disappointing return to an old horse-related video game, My Riding Stables: Life with Horses. I played it for ages long ago, but never felt like I made it very far. So I tried it out again recently… Only to immediately have issues with the controls, painfully slow progression, and frustration.
I think the best horse-focused video game I played was Barbie Horse Adventures: Riding Camp 15 years ago, which is about the most surprising statement I could make. Ha! There were also years of forum-based horse simulation games. Nothing has really captured the joy of that, although I was very happy with this board game. Definitely near the top of my list.
Although maybe I should also hilariously reveal that I often play open world video games purely to save right after receiving a horse, only to constantly reload to ride off in different directions. Oblivion? Skyrim? Red Dead Redemption 2? I didn’t get too far in the central stories, but I found the best riding trails with minimal bears, wolves, and / or monsters. Ha!
Different Horse Suits
Without an iconography key, I could only assume the suits contained balanced sets of horses, rather than something specific. The main icons referred to various disciplines.
I wished for more clarity in the rules, particularly related to the arrow on scoring conditions. That’s an adjacency indicator, and the aisles don’t wrap around. Easy enough!
Part of me wondered if I saw the same horse a few times, yet it came down to the same name used on multiple cards.
Such wonderful artwork, though! I almost would have preferred more art and less space for tiny flavor text.
Scoring Conditions
Arranging the horses in aisles gave me plenty to think about. Not only did I have cards in my hand, but there were a couple of stacks in the fields to look at and consider.
This gave me a few options, along with ways to cycle through more cards. However, even when I went through a lot of cards, I still only saw around half of the deck.
There weren’t a lot of different kinds of scoring conditions, but figuring out how to make the most of them was fun!
Wild horses were neat for their ability to fill in more aisles, yet they weren’t worth victory points on their own.
Hay! Did You Say Hay?!
Someone was ready for their closeup as I was admiring the box artwork. Ha ha! Talk about taking up all of the aisles at once and outshining every other horse. Well done!
The illustration on the cover is somewhat dark, but in a way that sort of reveals more with time. I didn’t notice how detailed the interior horses were at first. And that sunset!
It’s true that this one doesn’t lean too heavily into the theme, yet it’s a solid game about horses, which is rare.
Arranging the aisles was a lot of fun, as was swapping out the boards so I could enjoy all of the different barn scenes.
Wild for Horses
I liked how the wild horses didn’t seem to be that helpful to scoring all the time. But when it worked out, I was ready!
Making sure each card led to some victory points was an easy strategy to follow, but didn’t always work out nicely.
Swapping cards out with the field took me a couple of plays to fully understand. It seemed like the horses who were worth the most for being first in the aisles came out last!
Overall, gameplay was charming and pleasant. There wasn’t a lot going on, yet as I’ve mentioned lately, that can align perfectly with what I’m looking for. Giddy up and yeehaw!
Session Overview
Play Number: 1-10
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Outcome: 62, 43, 47, 46, 49, 51, 58, 59, 53, 46 (4 W & 6 L)
My first play looked like I had solved the game, but that turned out to be a very lucky attempt! It took me some time to figure out how to make the scoring conditions work together. Lots of interesting options! I was pretty excited when I picked up a lot of wild horses and found ways to make them more valuable. This was a very pleasant sort of session, and I enjoyed visiting the different barns and seeing so many horses. Another excellent, easy game!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
8
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
9
Originality
Design & Theme
5
Quality
Components & Rules
8
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
7
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
7
+ Pros (Positives)
- All of the illustrations are excellent with lots of unique horses and a very calm sort of outdoor atmosphere.
- There aren’t a ton of different strategies, yet the decisions are fun and interesting enough to stay engaged each play.
- Filling up the aisles looks easy, but the scoring opportunities often require a bit of planning to make the most of them.
- Upgrading a barn is a fun moment that increases a final score and updates the artwork in a charming way.
- Having a few fields of horses to choose additional cards from is simple but adds a little strategic layer to think about.
- Play time flies by, and although plays may not differ too much, there is a comfortable and familiar feeling.
– Cons (Negatives)
- The font size in the rulebook and card flavor text is very tiny, to the point that it can be difficult to read from nearby.
- Cards are stacked to only show the scoring conditions, which hides a lot of the wonderful artwork during play.
- Some of the cards are worded in ways that can take a little time to understand, and include icons that aren’t defined.
- Although the deck is pretty extensive, gameplay isn’t all that varied and comes down to scoring as high as possible.
Victory Conditions
Score 52+ Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Score at least 50 points.
Score at least 60 points.
Win at least 1 game with every stable.
Continue the Conversation
What do you like about Stable Times? Have you found a strategy you like to use, or certain horses you tend to always add to your barn? I loved the artwork and diverse range of horses! This is a very lightweight option, yet with so few board games focused on horses, this one is a delightful way to spend some time arranging these beautiful, clip-clopping friends!
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